Most helpful positive review

So a few things with this update: I no longer have this radio; not that it became defective, but it was also stolen. Anyways, I did want to state that before I lost it, the unit was still perfectly operational, and I have a few clarifications to make since I want my review to be helpful to others so they don't waste their money. This unit really can't be compared to the name-brand high end manufacturers; there's just absolutely no way a $150 DVD unit can even come close to a $540 Pioneer Flip-out DVD unit.

The price alone should tell you a few things just like any cheap electronics:

1. More likely to get a defective unit; the unit I got was great, but there's just typically less quality control with cheaper brands, so you do take a risk.2. Not going to sound as good as a pricier brand; I think the sound is actually decent, the built-in amp doesn't color the sound too much, but again, people are blaming the unit when they buy $30 speakers; doesn't matter what amp you get, junky speakers are junky speakers, and a better unit can give options to better adjust frequencies with an EQ and will be slightly cleaner and better sound, but again, you can't get away with cheap speakers. However, you'd be better off going with a unit without a DVD at this price point if you really care about sound.

Beyond that, all I will really say is this unit is decent FOR THE PRICE PAID. It's also a rather older unit by now, and I would recommend looking up newer models, as electronics continue to improve/get cheaper, you might find ones with better features for a comparable price.

***Updated 11/11/2011 - Added a few Pros (sound), and a few cons (remote, customization, EQ)***

First, if you have no idea how to install a car stereo unit, then don't think you can just order this and swap out your current OEM stereo, not gonna work. There are several more items you need, the two must-have's being a replacement bezel for aftermarket stereos (OEM stereos come in all shapes and sizes, where as after-markets fit into DIM or double-DIM, important to standardize the sizes); the second must have is a wiring harness (technically you don't, but for many reasons you should). Both of those can be found on Amazon most likely, and are car model/brand specific, so don't think that Pyle will include your specific wiring harness, that'd be impossible. I can find the model for my brand ('05 Civic) for around $4, so we're not talking a lot of money (some cars will also need additional adapters). You also need to know how to install it, and I'm not really gonna go into all that here, so basically, if you don't know how to do it, have a pro do it, just make sure they are either 1) really good, or 2) really cheap; its not hard to do in most cases, but you can wreck parts of your car, and they can charge hundreds for a 20-min procedure, just depends.

Onto the stereo itself: the thing's a pretty solid device; it could be improved, but I'd say for the price its worth it. I'm gonna include a few notes about quality, and hope to better organize the review later when I have time, but figured I'd get it out there. This head unit is feature packed, and is so versatile for a knock off brand, I'm glad I ordered it.

The bluetooth functionality of this unit is probably one of my favorite features; you can wireless stream audio, but I noticed it was a little scratchy-sounding compared to a pure hard-wired audio source, but the beauty of the bluetooth functionality is the ability to make calls and place it over your car stereo; for someone like me that HATES talking on the phone, this is awesome, because it sounds so much better then talking on the phone, and you can crank the volume up as well.

There are several types of connections: USB, 3.5mm phono, RCA (in the back), SD, and bluetooth, so it really can take almost everything you throw at it. I love the 3.5mm jack in front, makes it super easy to connect MP3 players or phones to the car stereo.

I tested a DVD, and the quality was pretty good, but it was a widescreen edition, and I haven't messed with it enough to find the letterbox settings, if they exist; kinda sucks if they don't, but not gonna kill the device for me, most our DVD's are 4:3. ** I've since tested a few Family Guy dvds, and they looked really good, although there were a few jittery lines on certain colors.

The screen is very responsive to touching, and has a pretty decent display quality as well.

The screen can tilt to many different angles, you have no idea how awesome that is! My dash is angled pretty significantly, around 25 degrees upwards, and at the stock screen setting, the thing was difficult to read, and really difficult to reach for pressing on the screen.

The sound quality is nice (although no EQ, see my cons); it is 80wattx4 (I'd assume 40w RMS x 4) which is slightly less than my less HU, but the output at high volumes is pretty clean. I have high-end infinity components (which have good sensitivity/power), and you can crank it almost to the point of having your ears bleed; by far louder and cleaner than any friend's cars I've been in a while; if you're really an audiophile, yes, you can get cleaner louder with an external amp, but really most will not need one.

For the cons that I can readily think of, it would be:

1) too large of a remote; its nice to have so many buttons, but makes it a beast to hold in the car for daily use; not a huge deal or anything, but a little smaller would have been perfect. The remote also lacks major functionality, as you cannot manually tune stations, yet you can change between the programmed stations (why the DVD FF/RW isn't used for this I don't know). That's just one of the many goofy items that are missing that really shouldn't be on this unit.

2) semi-noticeable fan if parked

3) wacky instruction manual; it's a good attempt, I'll give them that though. Still, I could understand most of it fairly well, and was far better then an overly-technical manual that takes a PhD to read.

4) Lack of customization/missing desired options; while parts are nicely customizeable, including a multi-colored LED scheme that can change from Red to Pink to Blue (or alternate every few seconds), its missing many basic features. Pyle would have done everyone a favor to take a solid stereo, and slap on a DVD function. Some of the features it lacks include: inability to change screen settings, such as the aux input, when the screen is up and you plug in a device via 3.5mm jack, you just get a blue-screen, can't change the display at all. You can't change the main unit's display to show the time permanently (which means you have to have the remote to see the time if not on the radio screen). You can't have a graphics display while playing an MP3 CD (stuck on an ugly folder/file display). The hard buttons on the main display are probably the least used (aside from source), no ability to skip. Can't navigate Mp3 CDs with the remote (the Mp3 CDs also take quite an obnoxious amount of time to load). Issues such as those, and there are many more that I doubt a larger brand like Pioneer would leave out, so yes, you do get what you pay for. I have my sub-woofer connected via stereo components, not the sub out, and you do not have the option to adjust the sound output, so I will probably switch it over to the sub out (not a big deal, just how I had my last setup done).

5) No graphics EQ. The "EQ" settings on this unit are pretty bogus as well, I believe they just adjust the treble/bass settings, which is completely different from actually adjusting the EQ. Ears adjust, and if you have good speakers eventually you get used to not having good EQ options, but it is something I miss from my last unit, and this having a 7-in screen, they could have really made a nice graphics EQ adjustment screen..

Most helpful critical review

Junk. Disc reader died couple weeks after installation. This means no cd. Or dvd. Bluetooth has to be manually connected everytime. Very very noisy machine and touch screen is sometimes not quite accurate.

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

So a few things with this update: I no longer have this radio; not that it became defective, but it was also stolen. Anyways, I did want to state that before I lost it, the unit was still perfectly operational, and I have a few clarifications to make since I want my review to be helpful to others so they don't waste their money. This unit really can't be compared to the name-brand high end manufacturers; there's just absolutely no way a $150 DVD unit can even come close to a $540 Pioneer Flip-out DVD unit.

The price alone should tell you a few things just like any cheap electronics:

1. More likely to get a defective unit; the unit I got was great, but there's just typically less quality control with cheaper brands, so you do take a risk.2. Not going to sound as good as a pricier brand; I think the sound is actually decent, the built-in amp doesn't color the sound too much, but again, people are blaming the unit when they buy $30 speakers; doesn't matter what amp you get, junky speakers are junky speakers, and a better unit can give options to better adjust frequencies with an EQ and will be slightly cleaner and better sound, but again, you can't get away with cheap speakers. However, you'd be better off going with a unit without a DVD at this price point if you really care about sound.

Beyond that, all I will really say is this unit is decent FOR THE PRICE PAID. It's also a rather older unit by now, and I would recommend looking up newer models, as electronics continue to improve/get cheaper, you might find ones with better features for a comparable price.

***Updated 11/11/2011 - Added a few Pros (sound), and a few cons (remote, customization, EQ)***

First, if you have no idea how to install a car stereo unit, then don't think you can just order this and swap out your current OEM stereo, not gonna work. There are several more items you need, the two must-have's being a replacement bezel for aftermarket stereos (OEM stereos come in all shapes and sizes, where as after-markets fit into DIM or double-DIM, important to standardize the sizes); the second must have is a wiring harness (technically you don't, but for many reasons you should). Both of those can be found on Amazon most likely, and are car model/brand specific, so don't think that Pyle will include your specific wiring harness, that'd be impossible. I can find the model for my brand ('05 Civic) for around $4, so we're not talking a lot of money (some cars will also need additional adapters). You also need to know how to install it, and I'm not really gonna go into all that here, so basically, if you don't know how to do it, have a pro do it, just make sure they are either 1) really good, or 2) really cheap; its not hard to do in most cases, but you can wreck parts of your car, and they can charge hundreds for a 20-min procedure, just depends.

Onto the stereo itself: the thing's a pretty solid device; it could be improved, but I'd say for the price its worth it. I'm gonna include a few notes about quality, and hope to better organize the review later when I have time, but figured I'd get it out there. This head unit is feature packed, and is so versatile for a knock off brand, I'm glad I ordered it.

The bluetooth functionality of this unit is probably one of my favorite features; you can wireless stream audio, but I noticed it was a little scratchy-sounding compared to a pure hard-wired audio source, but the beauty of the bluetooth functionality is the ability to make calls and place it over your car stereo; for someone like me that HATES talking on the phone, this is awesome, because it sounds so much better then talking on the phone, and you can crank the volume up as well.

There are several types of connections: USB, 3.5mm phono, RCA (in the back), SD, and bluetooth, so it really can take almost everything you throw at it. I love the 3.5mm jack in front, makes it super easy to connect MP3 players or phones to the car stereo.

I tested a DVD, and the quality was pretty good, but it was a widescreen edition, and I haven't messed with it enough to find the letterbox settings, if they exist; kinda sucks if they don't, but not gonna kill the device for me, most our DVD's are 4:3. ** I've since tested a few Family Guy dvds, and they looked really good, although there were a few jittery lines on certain colors.

The screen is very responsive to touching, and has a pretty decent display quality as well.

The screen can tilt to many different angles, you have no idea how awesome that is! My dash is angled pretty significantly, around 25 degrees upwards, and at the stock screen setting, the thing was difficult to read, and really difficult to reach for pressing on the screen.

The sound quality is nice (although no EQ, see my cons); it is 80wattx4 (I'd assume 40w RMS x 4) which is slightly less than my less HU, but the output at high volumes is pretty clean. I have high-end infinity components (which have good sensitivity/power), and you can crank it almost to the point of having your ears bleed; by far louder and cleaner than any friend's cars I've been in a while; if you're really an audiophile, yes, you can get cleaner louder with an external amp, but really most will not need one.

For the cons that I can readily think of, it would be:

1) too large of a remote; its nice to have so many buttons, but makes it a beast to hold in the car for daily use; not a huge deal or anything, but a little smaller would have been perfect. The remote also lacks major functionality, as you cannot manually tune stations, yet you can change between the programmed stations (why the DVD FF/RW isn't used for this I don't know). That's just one of the many goofy items that are missing that really shouldn't be on this unit.

2) semi-noticeable fan if parked

3) wacky instruction manual; it's a good attempt, I'll give them that though. Still, I could understand most of it fairly well, and was far better then an overly-technical manual that takes a PhD to read.

4) Lack of customization/missing desired options; while parts are nicely customizeable, including a multi-colored LED scheme that can change from Red to Pink to Blue (or alternate every few seconds), its missing many basic features. Pyle would have done everyone a favor to take a solid stereo, and slap on a DVD function. Some of the features it lacks include: inability to change screen settings, such as the aux input, when the screen is up and you plug in a device via 3.5mm jack, you just get a blue-screen, can't change the display at all. You can't change the main unit's display to show the time permanently (which means you have to have the remote to see the time if not on the radio screen). You can't have a graphics display while playing an MP3 CD (stuck on an ugly folder/file display). The hard buttons on the main display are probably the least used (aside from source), no ability to skip. Can't navigate Mp3 CDs with the remote (the Mp3 CDs also take quite an obnoxious amount of time to load). Issues such as those, and there are many more that I doubt a larger brand like Pioneer would leave out, so yes, you do get what you pay for. I have my sub-woofer connected via stereo components, not the sub out, and you do not have the option to adjust the sound output, so I will probably switch it over to the sub out (not a big deal, just how I had my last setup done).

5) No graphics EQ. The "EQ" settings on this unit are pretty bogus as well, I believe they just adjust the treble/bass settings, which is completely different from actually adjusting the EQ. Ears adjust, and if you have good speakers eventually you get used to not having good EQ options, but it is something I miss from my last unit, and this having a 7-in screen, they could have really made a nice graphics EQ adjustment screen..

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

This is my first in-dash DVD player, so I spent quite a bit of time researching. I finally decided that I would get an entry level unit to see how I would like it. After much deliberation, I Decided to go with a Pyle brand unit. I was very pleased with the huge feature set, as well as the ease with which the unit operates. The picture quality was much better than I expected and it functions nicely as just a stereo when video is not needed. I think this is definitely the way to go, especially if you're on a budget.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

Junk. Disc reader died couple weeks after installation. This means no cd. Or dvd. Bluetooth has to be manually connected everytime. Very very noisy machine and touch screen is sometimes not quite accurate.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

So at first glance, the price and product to me was total WOW! I couldn't wait to get this in my hands and have it installed in my 97 Mustang Cobra... Now I am at a point where I absolutely cannot wait to purchase something to replace this junkie unit, I'd even consider an 8track...CONS:* Using Bluetooth to pair with an IPHONE 4/4s/5 is absolutely manual and hit or miss. In my experience, once you pair, it's still a manual process to connect, if it's done automatically 9 times out of 10, you will end up having to turn off BT on your IPhone or IPAD and turning it back on, then hitting the connect. What a pain!* Not convertible friendly at all, cannot read the screen with the top down* The unit will randomly change from BT Music to AUX or go on MUTE as if it has a gremlin living inside of it

Overall it's simply not a very well put together unit, I absolutely despise it and most times ride with no music or with headphones due to the inability to connect and have a solid connection with my IPhone. Do not be fooled, it is NOT IPhone compatible, it will not display your IPhone tracks or functions. Also and VERY IMPORTANT, when I do connect via BT, I get lots of static!!! Simply JUNK and the aggravation is not worth the price.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

The pictures are the only good thing about this product. I was warned by my installers that it was flimsy and that it would be a pain to install as well as horrible quality. If you want a flip out, go spend the extra cash and get a clarion that is on amazon. It is worth it and is so much better.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

Man, for the price, this is a great head-unit. Don't really have much to add that hasn't been covered already. The instructions are garbage, so if you don't know what you're doing, definitely have it professionally installed. I put mine in myself on a 1999 Dodge Durango with Scosche Fcj1270Ab Multi-Purpose Kit For 1974 and Up Chrysler, Dodge, Eagle, Ford, Jeep, Lincoln, Mercury, Plymouth, hooked up my sub, and I am bouncing down the road now. My main desired feature was the aux in so I could hook up my phone/mp3 player and listen to it through my deck, and this fit the bill perfectly. The only problem I'm having is I do get some engine noise when I have my phone hooked up to the deck and plugged in to the DC charger. I'm hoping some better quality cables will fix that. I'll update when I find out. I haven't really used the bluetooth, though it did sync up with my LG Optimus S just fine. I made one call to my wife, and she said I sounded pretty quiet, but I get pretty dodgy phone service where I live, so that's not the best test. I'll definitely update more as I learn more, but I can say for sure that for my purposes, and for the price, I am extremely satisfied with this purchase.

UPDATE 8-3-12: I'll start with the good. I am still very, very impressed with the sound from this head unit. My stock Infinity door speakers, Pioneer door tweeters, and Sony Xplod sub all sound great. I like my music loud, listen to both rap and metal, and even with the volume cranked there is no distortion or cutting out. If I have a complaint in this area it's that it could get even louder.

I have since hooked up a rear view camera: PYLE PLCM22IR Flush Mount Rear View Camera with 0.5 Lux Night Vision and it works perfect, with a caveat. If you want ultimate control over the camera, you need to run it to a switch. You can power it with your reverse lights, but it will only come on when you're in reverse, and I like to be able to occasionally check my trailer while driving down the road. If you power the camera with any constant on/ignition controlled source, then the camera will always be on no matter what screen you're currently viewing, and if you unplug the camera every screen will be blue with a "Camera Not Detected" message. I was adding off-road lights anyway, so drilled another hole in the dash, took power from my parking lamps fuse in the block, and now I can turn the camera on whenever I like. The picture is fine...I'll post a separate review of the camera itself.

Now for the bad, and the potentially very bad. First, the Bluetooth has become glitchy. I only recently started using it to get away from the aforementioned engine sound when using aux (again, this only occurs when charging the phone...but I'm always charging my phone.) The Bluetooth solved this problem nicely. Music plays great on BT through my phone and pauses/restarts for phone calls as it should. The mic is lacking a little, and I have to talk fairly loud to be heard clearly. After using BT for music maybe 10 times, it started cutting out on me. I was just losing Bluetooth connectivity....my phone couldn't find the deck. My phone is still connecting to everything else I use, so it's got to be a problem with the hu. I'll keep working on this (next step is to try to connect my BT headphones) and I'll update if I do or don't find a solution. I'll be finding out soon if there's any customer service available because...

...of the very bad recent development. I lost volume control at the deck! The push button still works for selecting bass, treble, etc., but not that it matters, because rotating the knob does absolutely nothing. I have no idea what to do about this, and to compound matters the remote isn't working either. I've never used the remote, other than testing upon installation, since I operate most everything I use with my phone or a switch, and I'm assuming that the battery died...which means there wasn't much life to it to begin with. I have spare batteries on order, so will update when I found out if I can control the volume that way. BTW, if you're planning on getting this deck, go ahead and order some CR2025 batteries for the remote. I just ordered these: Energizer 2025BP-2 Lithium Button Cell Battery (2 Count). Get them through Amazon...a little more expensive but people have been having problems with other sellers.

I expect no product support for this very inexpensive deck, so it will be interesting to find out if I can get these problems fixed. I'll jump through the hoops and report back on my progress.

UPDATE 2-27-13: Needless to say, I never received a response from the manufacturer. However, my volume know is back to working. No explanation as to why, just started working again. Nice to not have to use the remote all the time.

I have a new phone now, and the Bluetooth is working much better. Only issue I have is that I have to reset the BT on the phone every time I restart my truck, even if I just went into the convenience store. Not a huge pain, but definitely a small one.

All in all, and after almost a year, I'm very satisfied with this HU for the price.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

Many functions did not work out of the box. Couple attempts to contact manufacturer and no tech support..... "Return to place of purchase or we will evaluate repair". Poor customer relations but luckily Amazon stepped up.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

Has lots of bells and whistles that are worthless. Flat dynamic range, mid-range sounds muffled.Screen is impossible to view during daylight hours.Stopped working after 7 months. Don't waste your money.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

I had great hopes for this, and was ultimately left disappointed. I used it for a few weeks to truly decide if I liked it first.

Firstly, didn't fit in my car...pretty much at all. I even attempted making some alterations to dash but to no avail. When the screen comes up, the two metal braces would hit the vents and other parts of the dash. I cut two narrow slits for them to go in and it worked ok, but not good enough.

It's also larger than 1 DIMM. I 1 DIMM stereo adapter from another stereo and it just wouldn't fit in it. I had to modify this as well.

The radio...it had serious problems for me. Channels would bleed into each other, and the radio volume was a multitude higher than audio from any other input. This was annoying.

Bluetooth...very flaky. I had to turn off BT on my phone every time, and reconnect it. This took away from the convenience of using BT.

The screen...it's really not that good looking. I went off of other people's reviews that say that it looks really good. It looks like crap. I played a DVD on it and never wanted to watch video on it again. The aspect ratio is also extremely screwed up (way too wide). The touchscreen aspect of it works pretty well though. I also couldn't get any videos to play off of removable storage. I tried several different formats with no luck.

I had great hopes for it, especially at its price point, but it ended up being way too much trouble to be worth it.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

I'm writting to say that I'm pleasantly satisfied with my pyle dvd player in that all it's been reviewed to do it has performed completely up to standard and so far i haven't experienced any major problems whatsoever. But what i have faced is that because of my car's dash the deck wasn't able to fit flush into the din but it's not an eyesore at all and the usb jack doesn't work properly i have to toggle it to get it to pick up but that's no problem because i was going to replace it with one that has a cable so that the flashdrive doesn't stick out so far for anyone to knock it. I attached a rearview camera to it and it works beautifully also the bluetooth function also works nice no problems with that, with either the mobile phone calling or answering or playing music straight from my cell. All in all i'm totally satisfied but it's a little annoying that everytime i start the car and the dvd player's screen is open that it closes and then opens again but i guess that's how they're all designed to operate.